Vacationing in New York
by Americans and Cats
Summary: Tsuna and his friends decide to take a vacation in New York. While there, they see something they're not supposed to and end up under the protection of the FBI, who have no idea who they are. Naturally, things get a bit crazy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: It's been a while since I've written fanfiction, especially for this fandom but this story's been bouncing around in my head for a few days so I decided why not. Of course, I don't own any of these characters, y'all know the drill. **

**This story does take place in NY and all the characters can speak English; it just makes things easier that way. Also this story is set some time in the future, during the summer break after Tsuna's first year at college so the characters are substantially older. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

New York, Tsuna decided, was not a city he could ever get used to.

It was large, for starters, far larger than his hometown and there were just way too many people and noises. Coming from a decent-sized city, Tsuna assumed he would be fine in the Big Apple, but so far he had been proven completely wrong. Namimori was nothing like New York, with its towering skyscrapers and throngs of people that always, _always_ seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere. It didn't help either that Tsuna was small, even by Japanese standards, and trying to avoid being trampled by hoards of people far larger than himself proved a daunting task.

The city however, wasn't all bad. You met some very interesting though rather eccentric people and Tsuna always appreciated any time he could spend with his close friends. It was summer vacation and, at Reborn's insistence, Tsuna had traveled abroad with his home tutor, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Kyoko and Haru. Tsuna had initially wanted to stay in Namimori and relax after his first year at college, but Reborn was having absolutely none of that.

"It's important to understand different cultures, Tsuna" Reborn had told him, "New York is the perfect place to start. As a mafia boss, you have to know what's appropriate and what isn't appropriate given your audience. New York is also one of the major markets for the Vongola; you're going to be spending a lot of time in that city so you may as well get acquainted with it."

"Wait what markets are you talking about" Tsuna had asked, eyeing Reborn with apprehension.

"You'll find out in time." Reborn had smirked, "New York will be an invaluable experience for you. Plus you need to work on your English; we can't have the head of the Vongola speaking English with an accent."

So on the last day of classes, Tsuna had been dragged to the airport, packed up on a private jet along with his friends and shipped off to New York. They had been in New York for about three days and those three days had been packed with Reborn's so-called lessons, of course giving the group no time to get over their jet lag. Some of the lessons had actually made sense this time, like the numerous cultural and historical explanations they had been given of the city or the fine dining etiquette lessons that had absolutely wrecked Tsuna's nerves. Only Gokudera seemed at ease with etiquette; the rest of them had failed miserably, attracting scandalized glances and whispers from other customers at the restaurants that Reborn had selected.

Today was different though. Since the curse of the Arcobaleno had been broke, Reborn had been aging like a normal person and currently looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. Unfortunately, puberty was awkward for everyone, even if you were the world's greatest hitman and it was your second time around. Reborn, as it turned out, was not immune to some of the less-appealing side effects of puberty, including random growth spurts that seemed to happen every other month. As such, he was constantly buying new clothes, generally dragging Tsuna along on his shopping trips to "properly instruct him how to dress for the mafia". Reborn had mentioned that he was going to use their trip to New York as an opportunity to do some shopping, since the brands he preferred were apparently cheaper in the States and had left the hotel early that morning to do just that, finally giving Tsuna and his friends their first day off in their summer vacation.

"This really is something, isn't it Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked, slinging an arm around Tsuna in a friendly manner as they made their way down the crowded streets. They had plans to go visit some of the museums in the city that day, but were really in no particular hurry to get there.

"Tch." Gokudera glared at Yamamoto before Tsuna had a chance to answer, "What did I say about acting so familiar with the Tenth?"

"Ah-It's fine, Gokudera!" Tsuna quickly assured his friend, "Really I don't mind at all."

"If Tsuna says it's fine I don't see what the problem is" Haru interjected, "Really Gokudera you get so touchy about Tsuna."

"Of course I do!" Gokudera blustered, "It's you lot that are the problem. We have to be on our guard, especially now! We can't get all friendly and touchy when we're supposed to be paying attention and preventing any and all threats! Reborn isn't here so it's up to us as his guardians to make sure absolutely _nothing_ happens. We're in the middle of a crowded city; this is the perfect place for someone to assassinate the Tenth!"

"Don't say something so terrible!" Kyoko cried, "I'm sure we'll be fine. Who would want to assassinate Tsuna anyways?"

"How would you like that list organized?" Gokudera shot back, "Alphabetically or in order of how badly they want the Tenth dead?"

"Hey, hey calm down." Yamamoto laughed, "I'm sure Kyoko's right and we have nothing to worry about. Plus it's not like Tsuna's taken over the family yet, right?"

"He's the only legitimate heir to the Vongola legacy at this point, it doesn't matter if he hasn't taken over yet!" Gokudera hissed back, "I can name twenty decent-sized families off the top of my head that would love to see Vongola without a successor, especially since the Ninth is so old."

"Gokudera we'll be fine." Tsuna reassured him, "Nobody in the mafia world, I mean other than those that we've had to deal with in the past, should know who I am. I've been pretty adamant about keeping the identity of Decimo quiet, and from what I understand the only thing most of the mafia world knows is that I'm Japanese. Plus you know those that know who I am will keep quiet. They may all be completely deranged psychopaths but they're, um, well, _reliable_ in their own way."

"Also rumor has it you can fly!" Yamamoto piped up, grinning, "But you know, between all the flying Japanese, they'll never find you!"

"If I start zooming around New York, I have a feeling I'll attract a bit more than just mafia attention" Tsuna responded, laughing, "Though from what I've seen of New York in the movies, they're used to people flying around and destroying their city. Doesn't it happen in like every disaster movie ever made?"

"You can never be too careful, Tenth." Gokudera said, a small smile pulling up the corners of his mouth nonetheless, "But if that's how you feel…I'll still keep my guard up, mind you. Someone's got to do the job since none of these idiots will."

"Who are you calling an idiot!?" Haru cried, bristling.

Tsuna sighed, mentally tuning out the argument that quickly broke between Gokudera and Haru. He was long used to it by now and had realized some number of years ago that the fastest way to get those two to stop fighting was to simply let them go until they had run out of insults.

About eight years had passed since Tsuna had first met Reborn and been introduced into the terrifying world that was the mafia. Though he had, under the threatening tutelage of his so-called "home tutor", done work for the Vongola family, he still maintained that he had no intentions of taking over the business once the Ninth died.

"I don't care how much you change the title; Vongola Decimo, Vongola Neo Primo, it's all the same and I don't want it!" he had told Reborn one night as they were arranging contracts for the family (something to do with international arms agreements; Tsuna _really_ hadn't wanted to read too deeply into them), "I'm going to go to college, get a nice, average job, one that does _not _involve bloodshed or violence of any sort, marry Kyoko, buy an average house, have one or two kids, retire, have grandkids, and die in my sleep. See? I already have my whole life planned out and it will be normal if I have anything to say about it!"

Of course the only constant in Tsuna's life since Reborn's arrival was that he _didn't_ have a say in any major decisions of his life, so he couldn't say he was too surprised that it was at that moment that Gokudera had chosen to demonstrate some new explosives he had just bought, blowing up half of Tsuna's room and Tsuna's attempt to convince Reborn to allow him to just lead a normal, non-deadly life.

Despite his rather trigger-happy friend and insane home tutor though, Tsuna had managed to fulfill part of his dream. His grades had improved substantially throughout high school, largely due to Reborn's death-or-pass teaching methods, and he had even managed to pass the entrance exams for the local university, Namimori U. He was attending the school now, studying business and economics. While it was difficult at times, he had to admit it was rather interesting overall and even found himself actually enjoying some of his classes. To make things better, Yamamoto, Gokudera, and even Kyoko were all attending the same school, though they were studying different subjects.

With his excellent grades, family background, and high test scores, Gokudera had initially been accepted to a number of far more prestigious schools, both in Japan and abroad. However, upon realizing that attending another university would involve being separated from his beloved Tenth he had soundly rejected the offers, screaming something about how a right-hand man could never abandon his post for something as trivial as university. He was studying astronomy and while Tsuna knew he had probably the highest grades in the class, he also knew Gokudera's obsession of the subject had little to do with the science behind it and far more with the possibility of contact with the extraterrestrial.

Yamamoto was far more focused on his baseball career than school, really only attending college at the insistence of his father who maintained a strong mind was just as important as physical prowess in becoming a skilled swordsman. He was studying some sort of sports medicine, though it was rather clear he was not too focused on the subject, spending far more time in either the dojo or the baseball field than the library or classroom. Despite this lack of focus on school, he was still passing all his classes so Tsuna assumed he had managed to find a balance between school, baseball, and the sword. That or his guessing instinct was as sharp as ever, Tsuna really couldn't be one hundred percent sure which.

Kyoko, like Tsuna, had been accepted into Namimori University and was pursing her degree at her own accord. Though she had initially talked about her dreams of becoming a policewoman again, she had changed her mind and decided to aid the criminal justice system through the legal process by focusing on criminal law, much to Tsuna's discomfort.

"It's fine, isn't it?" she had asked him one night, "I mean you said you weren't taking over the Vongola right? So I don't have to worry about prosecuting you in the courtroom? And even if you do take over the Vongola, I'm sure you'll find a way to stay honest and legal."

"You're absolutely right!" he had laughed nervously in response, pointedly ignoring Reborn's stare, "I'm determined to become a law-abiding citizen!"

While Tsuna, Kyoko, Haru, and Yamamoto had managed to stay in the same school, most of their friends had scattered. They had managed to stay in touch though, calling each other a few times each month to make sure everything was fine. Lambo and Ipin were both attending Namimori Middle School and Fuuta was at Namimori High School. All three were still living at Tsuna's house, completely unwilling to leave "Mama", along with Bianchi who not only helped Tsuna's mother with the care of the three children but further instructed Lambo and Ipin in their training.

Haru had been accepted into one of the best universities in the nation and was studying to become a researcher in some sort of mathematics. (Tsuna really hadn't understood it when she tried explaining it to him, something to do with models and the spread of infectious diseases.) She still also running a small costume business on the side and Tsuna knew she hadn't yet given up on her dream of making it in the movie industry as a costume designer.

"New York will provide a valuable opportunity for me to see real costume designs up close!" she had exclaimed when she first heard about the trip, "Maybe I'll even have a chance to see the behind the scenes of a Broadway play and get more costume tips there! I am the future wife of a mafia boss, after all. Doesn't that mean I get some special treatment?"

Chrome, Mukuro and the rest of their little gang had gone abroad to somewhere in Europe. Last Tsuna checked, Chrome was focused on medicine and god knows what the rest of the group was doing. It was probably completely illegal and horribly violent either way, and Tsuna wanted absolutely no involvement in it whatsoever. He still made sure to call them up occasionally though, mainly to check that their diet consisted of more than chocolate snacks or chips. Though Mukuro was now with them, as well as that music girl, MM, Tsuna wasn't entirely sure that they were actually capable of feeding themselves properly and would, from time to time, try to send them a care package that contained food with actual nutrients.

"Oya, oya you really don't trust us do you?" Mukuro had asked Tsuna, during one particularly harried phone call that involved Tsuna trying to ignore the many screams that were coming from Mukuro's end, "I feel like I suddenly have an overly-concerned mother watching over me."

"Excuse you, Mukuro but did you see what your friends were eating while you were gone?" Tsuna had responded, wincing slightly as one particularly high-pitched scream nearly deafened him.

"Hm. Point taken."

Hibari, of course, remained a mystery and while Tsuna knew he still hung around and protected Namimori, rumor had it he had already established his dominance in the Public Security Intelligence Agency. Tsuna really didn't talk to Hibari, but he did stay in contact with Kusakabe, who maintained that Hibari hadn't changed one bit from the day they had first met.

"He said he's not interested in anything to do with the Vongola unless you've got a good fight for him", Kusakabe had explained when Tsuna extended the New York invitation to Hibari (again, at Reborn's insistence), "Plus he's…busy. I can't say with what but he is busy."

"Wait, so the rumors that he took over the PSIA are true then?" Tsuna had asked.

Kusakabe had hung up immediately after that question, confirming Tsuna's suspicions.

Ryohei had moved to America, leaving the country to fulfill his dreams of boxing in Madison Square. One of the quirks of visiting New York for their vacation was that they could finally see Ryohei box professionally. He had invited them to one of his first "extremely major" boxing matches as he had put it and the group was planning on attending it to see how Ryohei was coming along.

"I'm so excited to see brother again!" Kyoko exclaimed suddenly, "Though I really do wish he had pursued something a bit safer...but I guess anything else really isn't "extreme" enough for him."

Tsuna laughed and nodded. Ryohei's match was that evening and the group was planning on attending, then spending some much-needed catch up time with their friend. They had wanted to see him as soon as they had arrived in New York, but he had been too busy preparing for his tournament ("Blowing the Tenth off like that, what does he mean he's busy, he's a G_uardian_ doesn't he know where his priorities lie!?" Gokudera had growled)

"The match is at nine, right?" Haru asked, "And Ryohei sent us directions. I printed them out so we should be okay. We'll spend the day at the museums, eat dinner, and then head over to the match?"

"Sounds good." Yamamoto said, smiling back, "But as for dinner suggestions can we pick somewhere that doesn't have fifty forks we have to distinguish from?"

"Bah you're just uncultured" Gokudera snorted.

"No I think Yamamoto's onto something" Tsuna quickly nodded, the memories of last night's dinner where he had not only managed to horribly insult the owners but also received a duel challenge from one of the patrons flashing in his mind, "Let's just eat somewhere casual tonight."

"Well if the Tenth says so." Gokudera said hesitantly, "I did research on which restaurants in New York were considered the best and divided them up based on type of food, price, and even what kind of attire is expected at each restaurant so we should be okay in selecting a worthy place to eat."

"Gokudera you really didn't have to go so far…" Tsuna muttered.

"It's for the Tenth's stomach, of course I did!" Gokudera said cheerfully, "Now how far are these museums again…?"

Shaking his head, Tsuna smiled at Gokudera and the group continued down the street in search of the museums.

* * *

**A/N: So yea that's the first chapter. Sorry it's so slow but it's an intro chapter and I thought it'd be a good idea to just establish where everyone was. It'll pick up in the next few chapters!**

**And I may be wrong about this b/c I'm not familiar with Japanese intelligence agencies, but from my understanding the Public Security Intelligence Agency (I'm calling it PSIA for abbreviations sake) is the Japanese national intelligence agency. If I'm wrong please correct me; I'm really not sure about this one.**

**So yep that's that! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter turned out longer than I expected. Ooops. Again, I own none of these characters**

* * *

"So where exactly are we?" Yamamoto asked, a small frown tugging at the edge of his lips, "Wasn't this supposed to be a short walk?"

"Maybe he gave us the wrong directions?" Haru said, also frowning and examining the paper in her hands, "I don't know, this neighborhood doesn't look too safe…"

It was evening, and the setting sun's rays were casting long shadows around them. The group had spent a relaxing day at the Met before grabbing a quick dinner at a rather mediocre corner deli. Using the directions Ryohei had sent, Haru had volunteered to lead the group to their destination, a stadium that could not have been more than a twenty minute walk away. However, they had been walking for what must have been well over half an hour and there was nothing that even resembled a boxing stadium or any sporting center in sight.

They had long left the bustling streets and through a series of confusing turns, made their way into a rather deserted area. The buildings on the side of the streets appeared to be deserted warehouses, some rusted from years of decay. A few passersby loitered around the street, every now and then staring at the group with suspicious eyes. It might have been the setting sun, the stark contrast between the crowded streets and the empty warehouses, or the rather scary-looking strangers, but their surroundings were looking less and less friendly by the minute.

"Nobody has GPS or a smartphone or something?" Haru asked, after staring particularly hard at the papers in her hand for a few minutes, "I thought I was following Ryohei's instructions and map, but it's making less and less sense…"

They all shook their heads, "We can't really use the data outside Japan; it's too expensive." Tsuna explained, "So I didn't even bother bringing my phone with me when we left the hotel. I just brought the pre-paid phone that I was going to use while we were here, but it's really basic." He explained, pulling the flip phone out of his pocket.

"Same here" Yamamoto said and the others nodded in agreement, "Though I guess in hindsight it would probably have been a better idea to bring something along when wandering around a new city? Oh well" he laughed, "This is an adventure! I bet we would have never seen this side of New York if we had brought a GPS or something!"

"That's not necessarily a good thing, you idiot" Gokudera said, scowling, "Look around us. This look like a neighborhood you really want to visit?"

"It's always important to see all sides of the world, Gokudera!" Yamamoto was practically beaming now, "We're broadening our horizons this way! We're seeing a side of America that you don't see in pop culture!"

"How can a person even be this stupid!?" Gokudera cried, "There's a reason you don't see "this side" in pop culture you know."

"Calm down you two." Tsuna said, "Freaking out won't do us any good."

"Tsuna's right" Haru nodded, "But…This map really makes absolutely no sense. Kyoko maybe you can interpret it?" she asked, holding the papers she had been examining out to Kyoko.

"I'll see what I can do." Kyoko said, smiling. She looked over the papers for a few seconds in silence, "Haru…this is the map my brother sent you?" she finally asked.

"Yep."

"And you…didn't think there was anything wrong with it?"

"No, why?"

"Um." Kyoko held the map up so the group could see, "Haru, this is a map of the entire United States. Brother just circled New York and wrote "around here" on it. It…well it isn't really helpful now, is it?"

"Now that you mention it…" Haru frowned, cocking her head.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS YOU STUPID WOMAN!?" Gokudera screamed, snatching the map from Kyoko's hands and staring at it, "HOW COULD YOU NOT NOTICE THIS!?"

"I'm not a stupid woman! It's a map of New York isn't it!?" Haru cried defensively, "I don't know I just trusted Ryohei! Don't blame _me_ in all of this!"

"There, there Gokudera it was an honest mistake" Yamamoto laughed, "But I guess Ryohei got us good! Maybe it's a challenge? Like he wants us to find him ourselves…think of it as a game!"

"DO YOU REALLY HAVE A BASEBALL FOR A BRAIN!?" Gokudera rounded on Yamamoto, "NOT EVERYTHING'S A GAME GODDAMNIT!"

"Gokudera calm down!" Tsuna cried, taking the map from Gokudera and looking at it himself, "Though you are right...this map is completely useless."

"But Tenth-!"

"How about you stop yelling at us and start thinking of how you can help instead" Haru interrupted Gokudera, her arms crossed across her chest, "It's not like _you_ volunteered to help lead the group anyways."

"Yes that's a great idea!" Tsuna exclaimed quickly before Gokudera could respond, "Let's all think of ways out of this instead of fighting." Tsuna looked around at their surroundings, "Since we don't have a GPS or a map, maybe we should ask for help. You know, get directions or something?"

"Good idea boss!" Gokudera agreed, looking around. The street was empty however, with the few people who had been walking by long gone, "Let's walk down a block and see if anyone's there?"

"Sounds like a plan" Yamamoto nodded, "I'm sure we'll be able to find our way around eventually."

With Gokudera now leading the way, the group hurried down the street in a rather tense silence. Yamamoto seemed to be the only one at ease, smiling pleasantly as he took in their surroundings.

"Tenth look!" Gokudera cried out, as they rounded the corner. A middle-aged man was leaning against one of the empty warehouses, but looked up upon hearing Gokudera.

The group quickly walked over to the man, a rather skinny fellow with a shock of brown hair, "Y'all need something?" he asked, speaking in a rather scruffy smoker's voice.

"Well yes." Tsuna said, smiling hesitantly, "Um. We're looking for directions actually."

"For what?"

"A boxing tournament." Tsuna responded, "Our friend's going to be in it. I think it was called the East Coast Regional Tournament?"

The man's eyes lit up, and he suddenly smiled, "Well why didn't you say so? Tell me are you lot from around here?"

"No we're from Japan" Tsuna smiled back, relieved at the suddenly friendly attitude of the stranger.

"And you've been in the states for…?"

"Three days"

"Have you tried the Central Corner Deli?"

"Yea, we just went there for dinner?" Tsuna responded confused as to why the man was interested in that particular deli. It hadn't seemed extraordinary; the food hadn't been terrible for the price but it certainly hadn't been anything to talk about.

"Sounds good to me" the man nodded, "Alright you need to follow me."

"You're going to take us there?"

"What else would I do?" the man laughed, "I know we New Yorkers got a bit of a bad reputation for being rude but we wouldn't just let you just wander around by yourselves."

"That's very kind." Tsuna smiled, "Really, thank you for your help."

"It's all in the name of business" the man responded, waving his hand and starting down the street, "Just follow me."

"Wait, Tenth" Gokudera suddenly grabbed Tsuna's arm, leaning forward and speaking lowly into his ear, "New York is not a kind city. Do we want to follow a stranger we just met?"

"We have no other leads, Gokudera" Tsuna responded, also whispering, "And he seems…friendly enough."

"Do you trust him?"

Tsuna frowned, watching the man walk slowly away, "I…" he started, slowly. He could feel a slight nagging feeling in the back of his mind, as if he were forgetting something, "Well I mean…"

"Gokudera it's fine." Yamamoto quietly interrupted, walking ahead, "He said he'd take us to the tournament so let's just trust him for a bit. Anyways between the three of us I think we'll be fine if he tries to pull anything funny."

"Yamamoto's right" Tsuna nodded, now pointedly ignoring the feeling in the back of his mind, "Plus it's getting late, he's the only person around, and I _really_ don't think we want to be around here once the sun sets. Let's just follow him for now."

The group hurried after the man, who had paused, looking back at them and frowning, "You sure take your time" he said, once they had caught up to them, "We don't want to keep them waiting now do we?"

"I'm sorry" Tsuna apologized quickly, "Could you lead the way?"

"Sure thing" the man shrugged, not pressing any further. "You're close, you know. It's only about a block or so down."

The group walked in silence, the man leading them making absolutely no effort at any small talk. They had only been walking for about five minutes before the man suddenly stopped in front of one of the warehouses, "It's in here" he said, opening the door and slipping inside.

"What a weird place to hold a tournament…" Kyoko frowned, "Maybe it's because they need a wide open space for the ring?" she asked.

"Who knows?" Tsuna responded, shrugging and following the man into the warehouse.

It was dark inside, with sparse lighting provided by a few flickering fluorescent lights in the ceiling. They followed the man through a rather long and narrow hallway and down a flight of rather rickety-looking stairs.

"Is big brother really boxing in a place like this…?" Kyoko whispered to Tsuna, looking rather concerned.

"Maybe it's a shortcut?" Tsuna suggested, quickly looking around at their surroundings as they walked, "Plus didn't he say he was still trying to work his way to the big leagues? Maybe you have to start in venues like this."

"We've got a pretty good cover here you know." The man suddenly called over his shoulder, "These warehouses are actually owned by one of the higher ups with the police, so they never even check here. They know what's going down and sometimes an officer will try to harass us, but then that officer gets fired in about a week so who cares. I'll admit though, it's not the cleanest looking area but hey, beggars can't be choosers."

"Y…Yea" Tsuna responded, completely lost. Why would a boxing tournament care about police ownership? The nagging in the back of his head was getting worse and he quickly shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Gokudera must have noticed because he shot Yamamoto a warning look, jerking his head over at Tsuna, who was walking in front of them. His taller friend said nothing but nodded wordlessly, re-adjusting the long cloth case he carried over his shoulder at all times that held the Shigeru Kintoki .

The group made their way down the stairway and stopped in front of a large and rather heavy-looking metal door. The man leading them reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a lanyard with a few keys attached to it. After fumbling through the keys for a few minutes, he found the right one, unlocked the door, and pulled it open.

"After you." The man said, smiling and holding an arm out. The group filed through the door into a rather large and sparsely decorated room. There were a few rather cushy looking couches on one side of the room where a group of about ten individuals sat and a table with an assortment of strange tubes and what looked like chemicals on the other side.

"Who are these kids?" one man, a rather burly looking individual with a buzz cut stood, glaring at the group. He wore loose-fitting jeans that had been ripped in several places and an oversized t-shirt with some illegible scribbles on it.

"They're here to pick up the goods, Tom." The man who had led the group came into the room, letting the door swing shut with a loud bang behind them, "Calm down, you know we're plenty safe here."

"From the East Side family then? They just get younger and younger don't they" the man, Tom, shook his head, "I can't believe the East Side's resorting to kids now. How old are you lot? 16? 17?"

"Well rumor has it that Vongola Ten started fighting for his position when he was 14." The other man responded, shrugging, "Maybe they started a new trend in the families. Send kids into the battlefield younger. Have them make the arms pick up instead of the adults."

Tom laughed, "The Vongola play on a different level from the rest of us, Squid. When you're born into that caliber family you start in the business as soon as you can walk."

Tsuna said nothing but paled substantially. Vongola? How did these men know about that? He quickly shot Gokudera a glance and felt relieved to see that his friend had quietly slipped his hands over his Vongola Gear belt buckle. Thanks to a combination of Spanner's technology and Chrome's illusions, they had been able to disguise all of their Vongola Gear as everyday objects, hiding the telltale "Vongola" that was emblazoned on each of their items. Gokudera's now looked like a plain silver belt buckle, though at his insistence Chrome had agreed to add a silver skull to the front of it.

Tsuna looked away from his friend, touching the plain silver ring he wore on his right ring finger with his right thumb. Though he had been able to master the final stage of the Dying Will, using it was exhausting and whenever possible Tsuna preferred fighting with his Vongola Gear. The double rings and chain had been disguised as a simple silver band that he wore at all times, attracting far less attention than it had in its original form. Taking a deep breath, Tsuna readied his flame before turning his attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Anyways", the man called Squid shrugged, "I'm sure our ambassadors from the East Side aren't interested in talking about the Vongola. Last I heard you lot had managed to fall out of favor with their alliance? What was it again, you did something with human trafficking on their turf and they freaked? They're going soft, I tell you. Originally I thought it was just because the Ninth was getting old but nobody seems to know anything about the Tenth so who knows what he's going to do. Hell, they haven't even introduced the Tenth to Society yet what's up with that? Isn't he already in his late teens? Or was it early twenties? Either way, families usually introduce their heirs before they can even walk, I've no idea what the Vongola's trying to pull with this honestly."

"Ah…who knows." Tsuna laughed, trying to force the nervousness that was churning in his stomach down. Thankfully, his friends, especially Gokudera, had opted to remain silent, though the sudden tension from the group at the mention of Vongola was nearly tangible.

"Squid enough with mafia politics, can't you see you're making these kids uncomfortable?" Tom called out, apparently also noticing the sudden tension, "Just give them the goods. You know messengers don't care about your opinions, ain't that right, kid?"

Tsuna said, nothing, shooting the man a tight-lipped smile and he grinned in return and nodded. Squid grumbled a bit but stopped talking, instead crossing over to the tables and picking up a medium-sized box before bringing it back over, "Here you are" he said, setting the box down at Tsuna's feet, "One of the first batches of box weapons. These aren't prototypes, mind you these are the real deal. We've finally got them stable and good to go. These babies are gonna revolutionize mafia warfare, let me tell you, and boy are you lucky that you've got someone as tech-savvy as us on your side." He opened the box and sure enough, inside were what looked to be a few dozen box weapons.

"O…oh" Tsuna said, giving the man another strained smile as he fully realized his situation, "Well then. Okay."

Though Tsuna had absolutely no idea what exactly had convinced this Squid fellow that they were from this East Side family, it was clear to him that _somehow_ his group had managed to accidentally stumbled across some sort of illegal arms trade. Mentally cursing his terrible luck, Tsuna began weighing his options, trying to find a way out that had nothing to do with him blasting a whole through the wall, Yamamoto knocking people out, or Gokudera blowing everything and everyone up. For a second, he considered coming clean, explaining to these men that they were just random tourists with absolutely no connection to the East Side family whatsoever. However, based on what he had heard so far and his past experiences with the underworld, Tsuna sincerely doubted they would be allowed to just walk away after what they had seen. Maybe if he just played along they could get out of this whole mess without a fight. After all, Tsuna had been absolutely determined at the start of his vacation to, at all costs, make it _completely_ free of the mafia or anything else that could be considered illegal and/or dangerous.

"We're not here to actually pick up the weapons." He finally said, forcing the shaking out of his voice, "Um. We're here just to do a check-up. Someone will be coming by later to get the weapons."

"Now hold on a sec." Tom growled, "That wasn't the agreement. You said to have the pick-up ready today and you'd bring the payment. _Today._"

"Well that's the thing" Tsuna responded, forcing a smile, "We don't have payment. On us, that is. It's coming but we just don't have it. So we can't do the pick up today see?"

"Are you lot going back on your word?" Tom asked, glaring at Tsuna.

"N-no see we're not taking the weapons till we have your money. So we're not taking your money and not taking the weapons we're totally not going back on our word just we're not ready yet. It-It's okay right?" Tsuna blabbered, praying to every religious entity that he could think of that this would work and they could just _walk away._

"No." Tom shook his head, his voice dropping, "It really isn't."

"Whoa Tom, calm down." Squid spoke up, "Look they're just kids, you know they weren't in charge of the money or anything. Let's just call up East Side and ask them what's up. No point in hurting the messenger, eh?"

A general murmur of agreement rose from those sitting on the couches and Tsuna felt a small bubble of relief pool in his chest.

"Tch" Tom shook his head, "You lot are the ones going soft. Fine. Call u-"

He was suddenly interrupted by the shrill ring of a cell phone, "Hold on a sec." he growled, reaching into his pocket, fishing out his phone and looking at the screen. "Well speak of the devil" he muttered, swiping his thumb across the screen to answer the phone.

"Hello." He said, "Dave? Yea we were just about to call you actually. There's some problems with the payments?"

He was quiet for a few seconds as he listened to the other person on the phone, "What'da mean your men can't find ours, they're right here…"

Tsuna could feel a sinking in his chest as Tom listened a few more seconds, his eyes going wide as he turned to glare at Tsuna and his friends, "You don't say. I see. No that makes things much, much simpler. I'll be speaking to you after I deal with this little problem."

Tom hung up, letting the silence in the room thicken for a few seconds before speaking, "That was our East Side contact, kids. Know what he said?"

"That the payment would be here soon?" Tsuna squeaked out, trying to smile.

"No he said that he had sent his _single_ agent over here and that he was currently looking for Squid at the meet up place. Meaning that you lot clearly aren't from the East Side." His expression darkened, "So the question remains. Where are you lot from and why are you trying to steal these box weapons? Speak up. You with the police? Or are you with a rival family? It's probably the latter isn't it? There's no way the police know about these box weapons yet. So what family are you lot from?"

"We're not from a family or the police!" Haru suddenly cried out, when Tsuna failed to answer, opting instead to stare at the larger man and gape, "We got lost! We were simply asking for directions to the East Coast Regional Boxing Tournament and suddenly you dragged us down here!"

"You expect me to buy that?" snarled Tom, "How'd you know about the password then?"

"What passwords?" Haru exclaimed, throwing her hands up, "We didn't have any passwords! We just asked your friend to take us to the boxing tournament!"

There was a few seconds of silence as the people in the room stared at Tsuna's group, "So wait, you're actually looking for the East Coast Regional Boxing Tournament" the man who had led them finally said, weakly.

"Yes!" Haru responded, "I thought we made that very clear!"

"And you're actually from Japan?"

"Yes."

"And you've actually been here three days."

"Yes!"

"And you actually ate dinner at the Central Corner Deli!?"

"Yes I don't even know why you asked us that!"

"Wow you royally fucked up, Squid." Tom said, "I don't know if they're really looking for a boxing tournament or lying but that doesn't change anything."

"What do you mean?" Haru asked, staring at Tom, her face pale, "It was a mix up. It was a mistake and we're sorry for wasting your time. S-so if you don't mind, we'll be leaving now."

"Oh no I don't think that's possible, kid" Tom smirked, "Honestly I don't buy your story so I say we beat the crap out of you till you tell the truth. And even if you are telling the truth, well, we really can't let you go after what you've seen."

"T-Then what are you going to do…?" Tsuna asked, his entire body taunt. He could feel his flame just beneath the surface, ready to burst forth. In the years of training he had undergone with Reborn he had finally managed to switch into all levels of Dying Will mode without the aid of any bullets or pills, which made things far easier when he was in a pinch, such as this one. There were only ten or so people in the room, he noted, and none of them seemed to be in-tune with their flame or any sort of box weapon. It would be easy to take them all out and with Gokudera's System CAI, protecting the girls wouldn't be difficult either. Killing these men to protect his friends wasn't even a concern here, Tsuna noted with a small jolt of relief. Despite Reborn's insistence that killing people was something that "just happened" in the mafia world, Tsuna still wasn't exactly on board with the idea of taking another life.

Tom laughed mirthlessly, "Sorry kids but this is the end of the line for you."

"Hey, hey calm down" Yamamoto said, holding his hands up and smiling, "There's no need for violence. We're just trying to find our friend's boxing tournament and you're just trying to run your…operation. Let's just put the past in the past and part ways here, hm?"

"As I said, I'm afraid I can't let you go" Tom shook his head, a small smile tugging up at the edge of his lips, "I do feel bad about killing a bunch of kids who had nothing to do with this, so I promise to make it quick. Of course, we'll find out if that's the truth or not, won't we?"

Tsuna glanced at Yamamoto, who had taken a few steps forward and was now standing in front of the group, a small smile still on his face. There was a sudden movement and a second later, he had his bamboo sword fully out, the blade end pointed directly towards the men on the couch and their leader.

A startled expression crossed Tom's face before he registered what Yamamoto was holding, "Damn, you can move" he said, letting out a low whistle, "I didn't even see that at all. But that's a bamboo sword...Christ you have guts too. With that kind of speed and recklessness, you'd do well in the underworld, kid. If we had met under different circumstances I probably would have considered asking you to work for me." He reached under his jacket and pulled out two large handguns, "It's a pity, really to see your level of potential wasted. You really think you can beat us with that?"

"You never know till you try" Yamamoto was still wearing that carefree grin but Tsuna noted the sudden hardness in his eyes. Reborn had called Yamamoto the closest to being a professional hitman in Tsuna's family and it was times like this that Tsuna could fully appreciate Reborn's judgment.

"Well you go ahead and try" Tom said, pulling the handguns up and aiming them directly at Yamamoto's head, "But don't be surprised at the outcome okay?"

"That won't be necessary."

Another voice, clear and strong, suddenly rang out before either side could movie. There was the distinctive click of a gun and everyone took their eyes off the two men squaring off as another person suddenly rose from the group of people on the couches. She was a young woman, Tsuna noted with dark hair that was thrown back into a messy bun and dark shades that obscured nearly her entire face. In her hand she held a small handgun and had it leveled directly at Tom.

"R…Rachel?" Tom said, shock evident on his face, "Wha-what are you doing!?"

"My name isn't Rachel, it's Rebecca Faucett", the woman responded, never taking her eyes off Tom, "FBI."

There was a second of silence as everyone gaped at the woman, the weight of her words sinking into them.

"You're…FBI" Tsuna finally said, staring at the woman.

"Sure am, kid" she responded, not even looking at Tsuna, "I don't know if you kids are telling the truth about accidentally stumbling into this operation, but damn do you have bad luck."

Before Tsuna could respond, Tom suddenly lunged at her, bellowing. A gunshot rang out and he fell back, howling and clutching his arm.

"Before anyone else tries anything funny" the FBI agent said, her voice completely calm despite having just shot a man, "I'll have all of you know that everyone here is completely surrounded. Our team's moving in as I speak so let's just make this painless for all of us and cooperate."

The people of in the room all fell silent, with the exception of Tom who was on the ground, still holding his arm and grunting in pain.

"We're not going to just sit quietly!" Squid suddenly cried out, springing forward and grabbing Gokudera, who was the closest to him, "We've got a hostage here and unless you want to see this boy's throat slashed open you'll do as I say!" A second later, he had Gokudera around the shoulder and the blade of a long, rather wicked-looking knife pressed up to his throat.

"You don't have a hostage, you ass." Gokudera growled, reacting instantly. He drove his elbow, hard, into Squid's stomach and the man doubled over, letting go of Gokudera and dropping the knife. Gokudera quickly ducked away, hit the man on the back of the head before he had a chance to straighten out, and let his unconscious body crumple to the floor.

"Well that takes care of that then. The rest of you lot going to cooperate?" the FBI agent asked, glaring at the group of people who were now cowering on the couches, "Okay good. I want everyone on their knees with their hands in the air. That includes you kids." She said, jerking her head in the direction of Tsuna and his friends.

"We've got nothing to do with this!" Gokudera protested.

"Gokudera, no" Tsuna spoke, his voice hard. He put his hands in the air, slowly, "Please, don't fight this. We'll just go with them for now. We're innocent so we'll get this sorted out in no time. I just _do not_ want to start a fight with the freaking FBI."

"Tch." Gokudera, reluctantly followed suit, dropping to his knees, "If the tenth says so."

Seconds later, the doors behind them burst open, with a heavy metallic clang. Casting a glance back, Tsuna saw several men hurrying through the doorway, dressed in all black and holding rather vicious-looking guns. They were yelling, though Tsuna could not quite make out what they were saying to each other. A group of the men approached Tsuna and before he could say anything, he felt a pair of hands roughly jerk his behind his back, clasping them into metal cuffs. He was yanked roughly to his feet and pulled along by one of the men.

"Watch it you-" judging by Gokudera's cry and the exclamation from the girls, they had received the same harsh treatment.

"Come on, you." The man holding Tsuna said his voice low and gravelly, "I'm going to begin reading you your rights now…"

Tsuna quickly tuned out the man's voice, instead trying to keep track of his friends, who were quickly disappearing in the sea of black. He saw a flash of Gokudera's silver hair for a second before it vanished and he was pulled through the door, up the stairs, and through the entrance.

It was chaotic outside, with flashing lights, sirens, and people barking out instructions. Bewildered by the sudden assault on his senses, Tsuna stopped moving for a second but the man holding him jerked him forward again and he stumbled forward. He was all but dragged a few yards over to a waiting black van and shoved harshly into the back. Staggering to his feet, he noted there were benches along the side of the van and bars between himself and the driver. He sunk down on one of the benches, leaning his head against the back of the metal of the van and trying to block out the harsh sounds and lights.

_This is possibly the worst vacations I have ever taken, including that trip to Mafia Island. _Tsuna thought as the man who had been holding him slammed the doors shut, leaving him in darkness. There were a few seconds of muffled noises from outside before the van finally lurched forward, taking Tsuna to his unknown destination.

* * *

**So that's chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Since Tsuna and Co. are dealing with another organization, there are going to be quite a few OCs in this story; this chapter has a lot to do with the intro of said OCs. **

**Hope you enjoy**

* * *

Alexandria Schuyler sighed, looking over her latest report. It was a routine check-up, something that her department was required to send to the higher-ups once a month and nothing Alex really had to think about. Dropping one of the files she had been reading onto her desk she leaned back into her chair, her dark blue eyes scanning the celling of the office. She was slowly becoming more and more frustrated with the mundane assignments her boss kept giving her, all desk work, and was starting to wonder if she would ever leave her cubicle to return to the field again.

Alex had begun her work for the criminal defense system while she was still in her early twenties, serving as an officer with the NYPD. Being particularly bright, she had managed to work her way up the ranks and eventually transferred over to the FBI ins hopes of seeing more action and taking more interesting cases. However, since she had started work under her particular boss, she had been shunted aside and cooped up in one of the cubicles, writing briefs, reports, and even helping with her department's budget.

_This isn't why I joined the FBI_ she thought, scowling at the ceiling. She wanted desperately to return to the field, to feel that adrenaline rush that came with a particularly interesting case.

"Frustrated much?"

Alex looked up to see her FBI partner, Joan Laurens standing in the doorway of her cubicle, a small smile on her face. Joan was a good deal taller than Alex, with a slender build, light blue eyes and light brown hair. Alex never fully understood why Joan had decided to pursue a career in law enforcement; she was from one of the wealthiest families in South Carolina and had direct familial ties to some of the most powerful men in the government. Joan had once explained it to Alex as a matter of honor and serving one's country, but at times Alex had a sneaking suspicion that it might have something more to do with breaking out of the family mold and winning her father's approval. Either way, Alex was glad she had chosen this career path. The two had been assigned to each other for field assignments upon beginning their work at the agency and had hit it off instantly, quickly becoming very close friends.

"What gave me away?" Alex asked, sitting up and spinning her chair around to look up at her partner.

"Lexy, dearest, you really are terrible at covering your emotions." Joan smiled, "Dreaming of the big leagues again?"

"That's why I joined the FBI in the first place," Alex sighed, throwing her hands up, "Joan, I had more interesting work with the NYPD for Christ's sake, now it's all desk work and writing briefs…I'm just so fed up with this! I want to get out onto the field again!"

"You know the boss is doing what he thinks is right." Joan responded, leaning against the doorway, "You're a horribly talented writer, so it would make sense to place you behind the desk instead of in the field."

"So because I'm good at something I'm punished?"

"Lexy, that's not how it is at all, you know that." Joan shook her head, "Boss is trying to run this department as smoothly as possible and well…you just seem to understand the boss with your writing. I'd say you're better at expressing what the boss is trying to say than even he is!"

"That's because I'm a substantially better writer," Alex snapped back, "And anyways, I don't care, Joan! I want to get out there, not stay stuck in here, cooped up in a desk all day dealing with paperwork and memos and notices and budgets! I just _hate_ this so much!"

"Lexy, calm down. And dear, control that ego of yours." Joan said, soothingly, reaching forward and pulling Alex into a hug, "We'll get back out there sooner or later, I'm sure of it. In the meantime, have you been bothering the boss about field assignments?"

"I don't think it's my ego if it's the truth," Alex muttered sullenly, leaning her head against her friend's stomach, "And yea I have been. Pretty much every day actually."

"I think it's starting to grate on him, Lexy." Joan chuckled.

"Why do you say that?" Alex asked, pulling back from her friend.

"He blew up at me today." Joan said shortly, shrugging, "I –er may have been asking about getting a field assignment too and I guess he was just in a bad mood. He started ranting something about how the three of us wouldn't stop bothering him for field work and it wasn't his fault that there weren't more interesting crimes happening and we should be grateful for any peace blah blah blah…"

"The three of us?" Alex frowned, "That's you, me, and let me guess, Gilbert?"

"Of course" Joan laughed, "You know how that boy is. He's completely awestruck by the boss, follows him around like a little duckling, but he wants to get out there just as badly as we do."

"Would it be wrong to assume you lovely ladies are talking about me behind my back?"

"Well speak of the devil" Joan muttered looking over her shoulder at the young man, Gilbert Noailles, standing behind her. He was very tall, gangly and graceless with shocking red hair, blue eyes, and rather pale and freckled skin. He was around a year younger than Joan and Alex, but the three were good friends and often spent time together outside of work. Gilbert was from France, but had become a naturalized American citizen about a year ago. He often reminded Alex of an overgrown, slightly awkward puppy dog, determined to please and love all that he met, and completely starry-eyed by everything around him.

When she first met Gilbert, Alex had asked him why he decided to come to America and he had launched into some long-winded tirade about liberty and freedom and god knows what else, claiming that France and America were "brothers in liberty" which made it his "duty" to ensure all evil-doers were punished in both countries or something like that. Alex hadn't really understood it, but she had made a mental note to discuss it with him sometimes in the near future. She loved a good discussion or debate (which was what nearly all of Alex's discussions seemed to turn into) more than anything and Gilbert promised to be a rather interesting partner in that sense.

"Gilbert don't you know better than to eavesdrop on other's conversations." Joan reprimanded, smiling lightly, "Goodness, don't they teach you manners in France?"

"I wasn't eavesdropping, Joan I just came to deliver a message" Gilbert responded, also smiling. Though his English was very good, there was a slight accent underlying his speech, "It's from the boss. He wants to see you two."

"You know about what?" Alex asked, "If it's about the report, it's nearly done."

"No, it's not about that, nothing so trivial he said." Gilbert quickly shook his head, "It's important, so you better hurry over. He's in interrogation room B5."

"Well then" Alex stood, stretching slightly, "Thanks for letting us know, Gil. We'll head over there right now."

"Let me know what it is?" he asked, "I'm actually really curious; the boss sounded somewhat stressed and well…I don't' want him to overexert himself you know. He always works so hard."

"Will do and don't worry about him, you know he wouldn't want that." Alex nodded, slipping her suit jacket on and smoothing out the creases, "Ready to go, Joan?"

"Sure thing" her partner nodded. With a quick good-bye to Gilbert, the two hurried out of the cubicle headed straight to the interrogation hall.

* * *

It took Alex and Joan about ten minutes to arrive outside the room that Gilbert had directed them to. There were two guards stationed outside the room and they looked up upon hearing the two women approaching.

"Can we help you?" one of the guards asked, his eyes wary.

"We're here to see our boss, George Ball." Alex responded curtly, while pulling out her identification and flashing it at him, "Could you tell him Alexandria Schuyler and Joan Laurens are here?"

The guarded nodded, speaking quickly into the earpiece he wore.

"The boss said only one of you should come in." the guard finally said, "The other can wait out here."

"How about you go, Lexy." Joan said, smiling.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely, you probably need it more than I do." Joan yawned, "Besides I'm a bit tired. Don't know if I really want to deal with the boss if he's in one of his moods and you know how stressed he gets with important cases."

Alex smiled at her friend, "Fair enough" she nodded, "I'll see you in a bit."

The guard stepped aside, swiping the card key he held and unlocking the door to the interrogation room. Alex thanked him before pushing the heavy metal door open and stepping inside.

The room, like the other interrogation rooms, was rather bare and lit with bright fluorescent lighting. The walls were a stark white and the floor was covered in light brown tiling. It was not a large room and in the middle of it was a table with two chairs on the opposite ends of each other. Sitting closer to the door with his back initially facing her was Alex's boss and head of their department, George Ball. He looked up when she entered and recognizing her, nodded his head and smiled tightly.

Her boss was middle-aged, old enough to be Alex's father, but also far taller than her with a very powerful frame that he had managed to maintain despite his age. He had reddish hair that he kept short and tidy, though it was turning grey, and light blue eyes. He had been working for the department for a few decades now and had made his way to the upper ranks nearly a decade and a half ago. Though his career had been plagued by bad luck and rumors of incompetence, Alex knew better. True, he could be grating at times, moody and downright depressing with an explosive temper when provoked, but she genuinely respected him. He had some leadership quality, completely intangible that just _drew_ men to him, (one of Alex's old friends had once joked it was simply because he was always the tallest man in the room) and when cornered she knew he could be rather brilliant.

A young, rather small boy was sitting across from her boss. He had his head in his hands when she opened the door, but jerked up upon hearing her come in. He looked to be at least partially Asian, she noted, with brown hair and rather large brown eyes. If she had to guess she would have probably put him at around fourteen to sixteen years old, though it was possible he could have been younger, with such a slight build.

"You called, sir?" she asked her boss, quickly shifting her attention away from the boy.

"Yes, Schuyler." He boss responded. "You've been asking for field work lately, haven't you?" her boss asked, "Well, more specifically you and Laurens have been."

"Yes, sir we have been." Alex said, eagerly, "We-I feel that we could be very useful in such a position. We have experience and are extremely dedicated to this organization. True, we have yet to work with the FBI but that's because we haven't been given a chance yet. If you would just trust us on this, we would not let you down, sir I promise you that. I personally have an extensive record with the NYPD and-"

"I understand, Schuyler, do you always have to respond to my questions with a short manifesto?" her boss asked, cutting her off, "A simple "yes" or "no" would have sufficed."

"Sir-"

"I'm talking, please do not interrupt me. Either way, calm down, you're getting your wish." Her boss gestured to the young boy, who smiled nervously at Alex, "You're looking at your new field assignment."

"I don't understand, sir."

"This kid's named Tsunayoshi Sawada." Her boss explained, handing Alex a manila envelope, "His info's in there, brush up on it. You're going to be protecting this kid and his friends for the next few weeks, Schuyler."

"Protecting?"

"You know the East Side case?"

Alex stiffened. She had heard some talk around the department about some strange new technology the mafia and other crime syndicates were allegedly using, something called box weapons and rings. They had been briefed on the basic concepts of these weapons and even how to use them, but even then little was known about exactly what they were, how they worked, and how they came into being. Though the FBI had been able to create some rudimentary box weapons and rings (Alex even had a few opportunities to try to open one herself) there still existed the fear that some criminal syndicates had evolved the weapon far beyond the FBI's capacities and the whole organization had been talking nonstop about them for the past few months. The East Side was, at the moment, their best lead on these box weapons and fully understanding what they were and how the criminal world was using them.

"I have sir, why?"

"This kid's directly related to the case. Saw a transaction go down between the East Side and a local gang." Her boss said, "We actually thought he was with them at first but we ran a background check on him and his friends, interrogated all of them as well as the individuals we arrested at the scene and there's pretty much nothing tying him to any of this. Just seems like they were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"That's unfortunate, sir."

"Indeed" her boss nodded, "Nonetheless, you understand why this kid needs protection? Him and his buddies helped us, accidentally mind you, but helped us nonetheless obtain the evidence to bring these organizations to their knees. We even managed to get our hands on a whole shipment of those box weapons because of this operation. They're being analyzed by research now so hopefully we'll have some answers soon. Either way, there's a good chance that these kids are going to be targeted by those involved and put simply, I want you to make sure nothing happens to them till we're sure we've taken these groups down and they're safe."

"Of course, sir."

"You'll need to be careful. We don't know how much the East Side and the local gang knows and we don't know if they've got their eyes on these kids." Her boss spoke quickly, his voice tense and clipped, "They had security cameras at their little hideout which were transmitting live stream to a different location. We weren't able to trace it unfortunately; the other side cut it off as soon as the realized things were going bad but that means there's a good chance that they've got friends out there that have these kids' faces."

"What gang was the East Side dealing with, sir?"

"The Kassels." Her boss responded, "You're going to want to read up on them. Be sure you understand who they are, how they operate, _everything_. They're not a huge family but they've got a decent amount of weight behind them. Our real fear is if the East Side teams up with the Kassels. Alone, they're not a threat but together they could cause some problem. We do not want to take any risks in this operation."

"Yes, sir."

"And you understand how important this is?" her boss asked, "We want to keep casualties to a minimum and it's going to be doubly problematic if these kids die."

"Why is that, sir?"

"Well apart from five dead kids there's the issue that none of them are American." Her boss explained, "They're Japanese. So if they die, PSIA gets involved and currently I don't think we want that, especially considering the rumors I've heard of PSIA's new boss."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"It isn't important" her boss waved his hand, "Since these kids aren't going to be dying anytime soon, right?"

"Naturally, sir." Alex nodded quickly, "You've selected Laurens and me for the case then?"

"I have." Her bossed nodded, "But know this, Schuyler. I've got a lot of people breathing down my neck about this case and who I'm putting on it."

"Don't worry." Alex responded, "I have proven myself worthy before and I will make you recognize my worth again, sir."

Her boss smiled, "That's the answer I expected from you, young lady. Don't let me down."

"I won't, sir."

"Very well" her boss stood, and Alex took a step back to give him some room, "Laurens is outside?"

Alex nodded.

"I'm going to update her on the info then." Her boss said, "Get to know Mr. Sawada and after you'll meet the other kids you'll be protecting. That sound good to you?"

"Of course, sir!"

"No need to be so stiff, Schuyler." Her boss chuckled, "I have faith in you; your work in the past has been excellent and I'm sure you'll continue to perform admirably in the field."

Alex felt her cheeks heat up slightly. Compliments from her boss were far and few in between and it was the first time he had ever praised her so highly, "T-thank you, sir." She stammered, trying to maintain her composure.

Her boss nodded, smiled at the young boy who smiled hesitantly back, then stepped out of the room, leaving Alex alone in the room with the boy she was supposed to be protecting. Regaining her composure she took the seat her boss had just left, shooting a smile to the boy as she sat down. There was a manila folder in front of her seat, presumably holding the information the FBI had managed to dig up on the boy.

"So…Tsunayoshi Sawada." Alex said, reaching forward, opening the manila file and quickly scanning the contents, "That's an interesting name. Japanese right?"

"Yes," his voice was rather quiet she noted, and he looked absolutely worn out.

"Makes sense." Alex nodded, "You mind I call you Tuna? Sorry but your name's a mouthful."

Tsuna seemed startled at the nickname, then sighed, "I would prefer if you called me Tsuna at the very least…" he muttered.

"Can't hear ya if you don't speak up, Tuna it is." Alex said, cheerfully, completely ignoring him, "Hold on a second kid you're already in college?"

"Yes?"

"Tuna, you look like you're about 15 years old how can you already be in college?"

"I'm not 15!" Tsuna protested.

"You're barely taller than me and I'm pretty small," Alex shook her head, flipping through the file, "You have rising sophomore status at Namimori University? That's in Japan?"

Tsuna nodded, "It's my hometown."

"Okay" Alex said, nodding, "You have done a bit of travelling, namely in Italy. This is your first time in the United States however. You come from an upper middle-class family with two parents, though your dad seems to be out of the country often on work. Overall you have a completely clean record with no history or connection with anything even remotely related to the underworld. So tell me how'd a boy like you get mixed up in all of this?"

Tsuna sighed, pausing for a second "Look, the truth is we got lost. That's all there is to it. We were trying to get to my friend's boxing tournament-"

"What's your friend's name?"

"Ryohei Sasagawa." Tsuna responded, "He's trying to make it in boxing and came to America to see if he could succeed here."

"Fair enough." Alex said, "Can't say I've heard of him, but continue your story."

"Anyways we were trying to figure out how to get to the tournament and got lost. We asked this man we saw, I think his name was Squid, for instructions and next thing we know, we're being mistaken for a mafia family and somehow involved in some sort of weapons trade."

"Why did you follow this man?"

"Because we were completely lost, had no map or any idea where we were going and it was getting late." Tsuna shook his head, "We were kinda desperate, that's really what it came down to."

"Did you not have a map of New York or anything?"

"We…thought we did." Tsuna sighed, "And I mean technically we did but it really was useless."

"Why?"

"It was the map our boxing friend had sent us…and well he's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer and um. Well. It was a map of the entire United States with New York circled."

"You're serious."

"He's a strange man."

"Indeed…" Alex muttered, "And you said it was an arms trade, why do you say that? Did they show you any weapons?"

Tsuna frowned, "I…I can't say they showed us any weapons."

"Then why did you think it was an arms trade?"

"Well they said it was." Tsuna shrugged, "I don't know, they showed us these boxes? They didn't look like any weapon I'd ever seen before but they called them "box weapons" so I assumed they were some sort of new weaponry? Plus they said it was really new, I don't know I'm not familiar with weaponry of any sort."

Alex nodded, frowning thoughtfully. It sure seemed like this kid had at the very least seen the new weaponry, the box weapons, that the criminal world was using, "So I guess myself and my partner are going to be responsible for watching after you lot. There are five of you?"

Tsuna nodded.

"My name is Alexandria Schuyler and you may call me Alex." She explained to him, "I will be staying with you for the next few weeks until we get this sorted out to make sure you and your friends are safe. I'll come up with a cover story on how we met and our relationship. That sound good to you?"

"You're going to be staying with us?"

"That is correct." She responded, "Usually we would just have someone coming by to check on you every once in a while but like the boss said, we really would prefer you lot not dying. Understand this is a precaution; if we genuinely thought your lives were in immediate and serious danger, we'd be holding you in custody. As is, I should be enough to ensure your safety."

"I…I don't think that's really necessary." Tsuna stammered, a worried expression spreading across his face.

"You may not but we do." Alex said, "Wouldn't you prefer the protection?"

"Um." Tsuna hesitated, "Well you see…I mean I guess I would but I…I think we'll be fine? We're not going to be in the US for too much longer anyways?"

"You've got a freaking criminal family after you and you think you'll be fine?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow, "Are you serious kid? You know these guys aren't messing around right? They'll kill you if they think it necessary."

"I get that I just…"

"You just what?"

"I've been in tight spots before. I think we'll be okay without the extra protection."

"Tuna, these are _hardened criminals_." Alex spoke slowly, disbelief coloring her voice, "We're not talking about your goddamn high school bullies here, you know that? Unless you've got some history with the criminal world and criminal families trying to fucking _kill_ you I don't think you really get it."

Tsuna opened his mouth to protest, but then stopped. After a few seconds of silence he finally sighed, looking at the ground with a defeated expression.

"You're tired, kid" Alex finally said, "Let's get you out of here ASAP and get you wherever it is that you're staying. I'll go talk to your buddies and we'll get you to bed?"

Tsuna said nothing, but nodded, his face still pulled into a small frown.

"I'll be back soon then" Alex said, standing up, "Just hold tight for a few. I'll make it quick."

She smiled at him, trying to reassure him and he gave her an exhausted and forced half-smile in return. Standing quickly, she hurried out of the room, the excitement of a new field mission forcing her face into a strange lopsided grin.

_I'm finally getting back out there_ she thought, not noticing the look of utter despair Tsuna cast her as she ran out of the room.

* * *

As soon as the door closed behind the FBI agent, Tsuna slumped down into his chair, burying his hands in his face. How had this happened? The last few hours had passed as a confusing blur, and Tsuna was beyond exhausted. After he had been shoved into the van, he had been driven down to what he assumed was the FBI's headquarters, searched roughly, fingerprinted, then tossed into an interrogation room. A man, rather scary and large, had come to talk to him, a process which took far longer than Tsuna would have preferred. After introducing himself as one "Mr. Ball", the man had asked Tsuna a number of questions involving the boxes (which Tsuna naturally lied about), what he had seen, and what he had been doing in that area.

"Frankly, we've really got no reason to suspect you or even not believe your story." Ball had said, "We ran a background check on you and came up with nothing. Plus, your story matches up with all your friends and the other criminals apparently have no idea who you are."

"So can I go then?" Tsuna had asked, hopeful.

"Well not exactly." Ball had shook his head, "See the thing is, you and your buddies are in a bad situation now. We've got reason to believe that the groups that were involved in the arms trade you saw take place have your identities and may attempt to take revenge on you by killing you."

"Are you serious?" Tsuna had deadpanned, completely exasperated not only by his situation but the idea itself, "So now we've got some New York crime groups after us? Oh that's just _fantastic_."

"You're taking this remarkably well" Ball had observed, "Most people start crying about now."

"I'm exhausted" Tsuna had snapped back, "Not really in a crying mood."

They had then talked a little more before the female agent, Alex, had come in. She was a small woman, Tsuna had noted, with dark blue eyes and auburn hair that had been tied back into a tight bun. She had been immaculately dressed, wearing a spotless black suit jacket and a matching skirt with rather high pumps. Though she had been horribly stiff while talking to her boss, Tsuna noted that her demeanor had changed drastically when talking to him, and he could not help but notice that she seemed extremely self-assured.

_And now she's going to be following us around for the duration of this visit_ Tsuna groaned, leaning forward and letting his head fall onto the table in front of him. He had tried to explain to her that he really didn't need her protection, but hadn't been able to come up with a convincing lie about why he'd be fine without it. Short of explaining to her that, yes he _was_ actually very familiar with criminals trying to kill him because, through a series of mistakes and events completely beyond his control, he had somehow become the only candidate for the Vongola family so now it seemed like _everyone _in the criminal world was determined to take at least one crack at his life, Tsuna had no idea how to tell her that he'd be totally fine.

Still he couldn't help but wonder if lying about his knowledge of box weapons and connections to the criminal world had been a good idea. Between Reborn and Gokudera it would only be a matter of minutes before she figured _something_ out.

He hadn't done anything illegal yet though, Tsuna reassured himself and it wasn't like they could just haul people off because of connections, right?

Tsuna would have liked so but he really wasn't sure. Last thing he needed was a file in the FBI; that would, without a doubt, completely and utterly destroy any hope he had left of leading a perfectly normal, mafia-free life.

* * *

**A/N: I'll be completely honest; all the major OCs in this story (well at least the ones introduced in this chapter) are not original at all. Everything about them; their names, appearances, relations to each other, backstories, personalities, etc. are all based off of other already-existing characters/people. Wonder if anyone can guess who they are? They're pretty famous. Well at least three of them are. **

**Sorry I just like slipping things from my other interests in my stories! Still, I hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the long break; life has been hectic lately. I should be able to update somewhat regularly again though! **

* * *

"We got a case" Alex announced triumphantly, not even bothering to knock on Gilbert's cubicle.

Gilbert looked up from his desk, surprised at the sudden intrusion, before a huge grin broke across his face, "You did?" he cried, "Oh congratulations my friend!" He quickly stood and swept Alex into a huge bear hug, smushing her face close to his bony chest, "Both you and Joan?"

"Yep!" Alex said, cheerfully, pulling back and grinning up at him, "It isn't a huge case but it's a start! We're protecting a few kids, nothing major, but we'll be back out there!"

"Oh but we should celebrate!" Gilbert said, "Once you complete your assignment, I'm taking the both of you out! Your choice, my treat."

"Careful, Gil." Alex teased, "You'll attract a few jealous stares if you have two such gorgeous ladies with you. Besides, we don't want Adrienne getting jealous now do we?"

Gilbert laughed, "My dearest Adrienne knows that my heart beats only for her."

"You French people and your weird romantics," Alex made a face, shoving Gilbert playfully, "That poor girl, bound to an idiot like you."

"You wound me, mademoiselle" Gilbert said, placing his hands mockingly over his heart, "Adrienne and I are very happily married."

"I'm sure you are." Alex rolled her eyes. Though she had never met Gilbert's wife, Adrienne, in person, he often spoke dotingly of her. He had shown Alex a number of pictures of her and she knew he kept one in his wallet at all times. Adrienne had stayed in France, apparently too busy with her own work to leave her native country. They had somehow managed to make long-distance work, though, which Alex took as a sign of a healthy relationship between the two.

"But enough of my personal life and perfect marriage!" Gilbert threw an arm around Alex, "When do you start work on this new job?"

"Now actually" Alex responded, "I came back to pick up a few things; they're getting the kids we're watching checked out now."

"Can you give me details?"

"You know I can't, Gil"

"That's fine" Gilbert shook his head, "Where's Joan? I need to congratulate her as well!"

"She's taking care of the paperwork." Alex said, "Making sure it's all in order."

"I suppose I'll just have to visit you while you're on the job" Gilbert smiled, "Let's arrange a meet up? We could "accidentally" bump into each other someday while you're babysitting! I would love to meet these kids you're working with!"

"Gil you know better than that" Alex scolded lightly, "And it's not babysitting!"

"Ah you take your work so seriously!" Gilbert laughed, "I understand Alex, no it's fine but we've got to stay in touch? I'm going to be so lonely without you or Joan to keep me company!"

"Naturally" Alex laughed, "It's not like we're going away though, Gilbert you drama queen. It'll only be for a few weeks! Either way, I'll be counting on you to watch my stuff and make sure nothing happens to the boss."

"Of course, of course" Gilbert nodded, grinning, "I'll hold down the fort here. You make sure your mission's fulfilled perfectly."

"You know I will, Gil"

"Best of luck, my dear" Gilbert said, his voice earnest, "I can't keep you waiting though, can I? Go, Alex, I am sure your mission will be flawless."

"Of course it will." Alex smirked, "After all, I am on it. No matter what happens, I'm sure I'll be able to handle it."

* * *

"I think that's it then?" Joan asked, looking over the documents spread out in front of her one last time. It was all rather routine paperwork, since the case itself was not particularly extraordinary.

The secretary at the desk took the papers from Joan, quickly scanning them with sharp precision, "Yep this looks good. Just hang tight and wait for your supervisor to get here?"

"Supervisor?" Joan asked, "Mr. Ball isn't our supervisor?"

"This isn't exactly a high-profile case and Mr. Ball is the head of the department." the secretary explained, "So no, of course not."

"Huh" Joan frowned, "Okay then. Who is it?"

"I said he would be here shortly, didn't I?" the secretary asked, "Just grab a seat and wait a few minutes."

"Fine." Joan shrugged and walked over to one of the plastic chairs in the small waiting room. Plopping herself down, she examined the drab and grey walls, before turning her attention to a rather small crack in the ceiling.

Joan had to admit she was very excited, not only for the case itself but for the chance to work in the field alongside Alex again. Alex was quite a problematic individual, if Joan had to really be honest; headstrong, arrogant, and honest to the point of fault. Any lies, even small and simple ones seemed beyond her capabilities and it had time and time again gotten her into trouble.

"Alex" their boss had said, after she had not only managed to insult a higher-up but also the higher up's wife, brother, and pet dog, "You've got to learn when a little lie is okay and how much of the truth needs to be said. I swear if you had a husband and you cheated on that husband, it wouldn't be enough for you to just tell the poor man the truth. You would publish a goddamn book, explaining to the whole world every minute detail of your extramarital affair and lay out everything for everyone who never cared to see."

"That may be the case, sir" Alex had responded, hotly, "But everything I said was true, wasn't it? You know I was right here, sir, I know you do."

And that was the thing about Alex. She was flawed, horribly, _horribly_ flawed but she was absolutely brilliant and she knew it. Joan sighed, her eyes tracing the crack back and forth. She knew Alex would cause problems, but the anticipation of seeing her friend in action again absolutely thrilled her.

_Not that there should be much action going on, _Joan thought. The case was standard, really, and Joan had already looked over the files of the kids they were supposed to be watching. They were normal to the point of blandness, nothing really interesting standing out about any of them at all. Plus she sincerely doubted that either gang, the East Side or the Kassels, would be coming after them at any point. This mission was clearly more cautionary than anything, just an extra measure to ensure nothing happened to these kids. It had seemed pretty obvious to her that they had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she couldn't imagine why either gang would expend serious resources to take down a group of confused children. The exciting cases would come later, she knew, once they had managed to pull off a few of these rather dull ones. She could be patient.

"Ms. Laurens?" the secretary called out, snapping Joan out of her reverie, "Your supervisor's here."

"Ah. Oh. Yes." Joan responded, sharply, quickly standing and looking expectantly toward the door to the waiting room. Sure enough, it swung open to reveal two men. One was a larger man, with dark hair and eyes, a rather protruding nose and a slight limp. The other was leaner and younger, with light grey eyes and brown hair.

"Mr. Shippen! And John!" Joan, cried, recognizing the two men instantly. The larger and older man was Ben Shippen and the younger man, his assistant, John Arnold. Shippen had quite a good reputation within the department and Joan knew her boss regarded him fondly, not only in the professional sense, but also as a close and personal friend.

"He always gets overlooked" her boss had grumbled to her, one day when discussing the man, "I tell you, Joan, he works harder than anyone else and yet others take credit for his accomplishments. Such dedication with such little reward must be admired above all and respected."

While Shippen had done quite a bit of field work in years past, Joan knew he now mostly stayed behind the desk due to a work-related injury. He had been shot in the leg during one particularly harrowing and important operation and though the wound had not proved to be life-threatening, he now walked with a limp.

His assistant, John Arnold, who now stood by his side, was quite handsome. He had a high forehead, rather striking eyes, and his face was perpetually pulled into a small, soft smile. Joan and Alex had spoken to him on a few occasions, and Joan had been impressed, not only by his looks but his charm. He was intelligent, interesting, and Joan knew Alex really had really been hoping to spend more time with him.

"Joan!" Shippen said, smiling at her, "What a pleasant surprise! You're on this case then?"

"Yep" she nodded, "Well, me and Alex, obviously but it's wonderful to know we'll have you as our supervisor."

"Indeed" he nodded, "Though I think I got the better end of the bargain. With you two on it, I've got to say my work suddenly seems much easier."

"I thought you didn't take field cases anymore?" Joan asked.

"Well I couldn't" he responded, "This damnable leg wouldn't let me. But you know I was growing tired of being squirreled away in the back for all those months. So, I had a word with the boss, he put in a few words for me and they let me take on this case. I won't actually be going into the field myself though, that's where John comes in."

"You will be making daily reports to Mr. Shippen." John explained, "But I personally will be stopping by to check your work every now and then."

"Sounds good." Joan smiled, "I'm so glad we will be working together on this case. It's our first field case in a while, you know."

"It's rather standard though, no?" Shippen asked, "I've looked over the paperwork, doesn't seem like anything you and Alex can't handle."

"Of course not, sir!"

"The guard should be bringing in the kids soon to the second waiting room, where you and Alex will meet them." John suddenly interjected, glancing quickly at his watch, "I assume you would prefer to get them to their hotels as soon as possible?"

"I am assuming they'd want the same" Joan shrugged, "They've had a long night, you've gotta feel sorry for them. I've already filled out the paper work for their release, so they should be good to go."

"Trust you to have everything ready, Joan." Shippen chuckled.

"Sir?" it was the secretary again, addressing Shippen this time, "Sir, the guards are bringing them into the second waiting room. Ms. Laurens should probably go to meet with them; Ms. Schuyler is already on her way."

"Well then, Joan this is where we go our separate ways." Shippen said, extending his hand, "Best of luck to both you and Alex."

"Thank you, sir" Joan smiled, grabbing his hand, "I promise we won't let you or Mr. Ball down."

"I would expect no less" he responded warmly, reciprocating the smile.

Joan nodded sharply to John, who returned the gesture, murmuring wishes of luck as well before turning on heel and hurrying from the room.

* * *

For such a famous institution, the FBI certainly had ugly waiting rooms, Tsuna noted, examining the room he sat in. The walls were a rather drab gray, the plastic chairs dull and yellow, and the linoleum floor looked at least a few decades old. He had been there for maybe five minutes, after an officer had come to retrieve him from the interrogation room and told him his paperwork had been filed and he was free to go.

"What about the lady who said she'd be staying with us?" he had asked as he followed the officer out of the interrogation room, "I think her name was Alex?"

"You'll meet her, her partner, and your friends in the waiting room" the officer had responded, "Then they will accompany you back to your current lodging and stay with you until it is deemed necessary."

_I sure hope everyone's alright_ he thought, chewing on his lower lip. He had been plagued with worry since they had been taken away. Getting arrested by the FBI had most certainly not been on their "To-do" list and while they had not been treated particularly badly (especially in comparison to past experiences), Tsuna was still concerned over the well-being of his friends.

"Tenth!"

Gokudera's voice was unmistakable and Tsuna quickly looked up to see his friend standing in the doorway, staring at him with tears in his eyes.

_Trust Gokudera to have an extreme reaction…_Tsuna thought. Still, he was horribly relieved to see his friend, looking completely unscathed.

"Gokudera are you okay?" he asked, hurrying across the room.

"Tenth please don't worry about me, I'm fine!" Gokudera responded, waving his hand, "More importantly nothing happened to you right? You're totally fine, right? They weren't rude to you? They didn't mistreat you? They were respectful? Any slight, any insult, please let me know, Tenth, I'll be sure to avenge you!"

"Gokudera, don't worry they were totally fine and _please_ don't try to avenge me over anything," Tsuna laughed, "The others should be here soon right?"

"Yep" Gokudera nodded, "But more importantly, Tenth that woman did tell you they'd be staying with us?"

Tsuna nodded, his face worried, "Gokudera, we have to keep the Vongola a secret from them" he spoke lowly, his voice barely above a whisper, "So please, _please_ don't talk about it at all. I trust you to keep this a complete secret from them. It'll only be for a few weeks, I'm sure we can manage."

"If that's what the Tenth wants, I won't say a word." Gokudera responded solemnly.

"Hey Tsuna!"

The door swung open again and Yamamoto hurried out, followed closely by Kyoko and Haru.

"Everyone's out!" Tsuna cried, happily.

"Tsuna that was so scary!" Haru cried, throwing herself at him and catching him around the neck, "I've never been held by the police before, it was so frightening! I thought we were going to be locked up forever and then what would have become of our love? We would have been held in different prisons, separated by steel bars, iron chains, and concrete!"

"Yes, but it was quite an experience wasn't it?" Yamamoto asked, smiling pleasantly, as Tsuna flailed, trying to keep his balance, "I bet most people who vacation in New York can't say this happens to them!"

"That's not a good thing, you idiot" Gokudera growled, "And get off the Tenth, you stupid woman!" he cried, turning his attention to Haru, "You're going to make him fall!"

"It was quite interesting though!" Kykoko interjected, also smiling, "I've never seen the inner workings of a foreign justice system in such detail! This really was a great study for me and a pretty rare opportunity too!"

"So glad you two were able to see the bright side of this." Tsuna grumbled, trying to detach Haru from around his neck, "Ever the optimists aren't you?"

"It's better that way." Kyoko responded, still smiling, "But what do we do now? Aren't we supposed to wait for those ladies that are staying with us? How long did they say we would have to wait?"

"Relax kid, we're already here."

Alex was standing in the doorway, smiling lightly. Behind her stood a rather slender woman, dressed also in a dark suit. She was a good deal taller than Alex, with dirty-blonde hair and light blue eyes.

"This is my partner, Joan Laurens" Alex said, jerking her thumb to the woman as they entered the room, "She's going to be working with me to make sure nothing happens with you kids."

"It's a pleasure" Joan said, smiling, "I've already got your files so I think I know who's who here. Let's just cut the small talk and get you lot back to your hotels? You have an address this time right? Hopefully you lot have learned your lesson about wandering around an unfamiliar city with no guidance?"

Tsuna nodded, smiling weakly.

"Wonderful" Joan said, as she began to usher the group out of the room, "Well let's not waste any more time. Say goodbye to the FBI kids, it's been a pleasure having you and I hope you never see these walls again."

* * *

After a rather hassling subway ride the group arrived at their hotel, a rather standard place save the location. Through some ties that Tsuna hadn't really bothered to ask about, Reborn had managed to get a hotel located squarely in the heart of the city.

"Goodness, you lot must be rather well off if you're staying at a place like this." Joan whistled, "How'd a bunch of college kids afford this location?"

"Um." Tsuna shrugged, trying to stay nonchalant, "We've been saving. Plus our parents pitched in, I guess."

"Your parents must love you a whole lot." She responded, shaking her head as they entered the hotel lobby and quickly took the elevator up to their hotel room. Before they could open the door, however, Joan shook her head sharply and extended her hand.

"Give me the card key" she said, "I have to sweep the room first to make sure it's safe before we let you in."

"Is this really necessary?" Gokudera growled, "It's our hotel room!"

"It's protocol" Joan shrugged, as Tsuna handed his card key over, "And we're sticking with protocol to make sure nothing happens."

"Gokudera, it's not a big deal, just let her do this." Tsuna said, smiling apologetically.

Joan quickly swiped the key card, then pushed the door open, letting herself in with her gun drawn and at eye level, "You lot wait out here with Alex, I'm going to run the sweep" she said, quickly flicked the light switch on.

Seconds later, a horribly familiar yell greeted them, and everyone in the group jumped.

"What the _fuck_." Alex cried, also pulling her gun out and hurrying into the room.

"No, NO!" Tsuna yelled, quickly following her, "Don't shoot, god please don't shoot, he's a friend, it's okay!"

Alex and Joan hadn't pulled their triggers yet, but both women had their weapons at the ready and shoved into a rather angry-looking Ryohei's face.

"Who the hell are you." Joan growled, "And how and why are you in this hotel room? Speak quickly, kid."

"I could ask you the same!" he retorted, bringing his fists up, "Why'd you break into my friends' hotel room?"

"Ah no Ryohei!" Tsuna quickly interrupted as the rest of the group hurried into the room after him, "She didn't break in! She's with us!"

"You know this fool?" Joan asked, not taking her eyes off Ryohei.

"Yes he's my older brother!" Kyoko cried, "His name's Ryohei. Remember we told you we were going to the boxing match? It was his."

"You're the boxer kid?" Joan sighed and pulled her gun down and Alex quickly followed suit, "Fine, just why the hell were you hiding in their hotel room?"

"He let me in" Ryohei said, jerking his head over to Reborn who had been sitting on an armchair in the corner of the room, a small smirk on his face. He was dressed, per usual, in a black suit and wearing his trademark fedora. Tsuna paled substantially. How to make sure Reborn didn't spill anything?

"Another friend of yours?" Joan asked Tsuna, apparently not noticing his sudden change in expression, "Isn't he a bit young to be on a trip with a bunch of college-aged kids?"

"Ah, this is my cousin" Tsuna quickly explained before Reborn had a chance to talk, "He's from Italy. His name is um…Re-um. Ricardo"

"Ricardo?" Joan frowned, looking at Reborn, "You two certainly don't look related."

"Haha yea we get that a lot" Tsuna said, forcing a laugh.

"Well it's very nice to meet you, Ricardo." Joan said, smiling kindly at Reborn, "My name is Joan and I am friends with Tuna. Um." She looked at the gun in her hand before quickly stowing it away in the holster she wore under her suit jacket, "Never mind that, how old are you?"

"He's 13." Tsuna res[ponded, "And he's in middle school. We're on vacation now and decided to meet up in New York."

"That's really exciting!" Joan exclaimed, "So how do you like New York, Ricardo?"

"He loves it!" Tsuna said, "Yea he's just having a blast here!"

"Let the kid talk, Tuna." Alex said, raising an eyebrow, "Goodness what's your problem?"

"'He...he's shy!" Tsuna exclaimed, "Yea, shy! He's not good with speaking in front of strangers."

"Well if you never let him speak, of course you'd think that." Alex snorted.

"You're a very sharp dresser, Ricardo" Joan observed, "Did you pick out these clothes yourself?"

"Naturally" Reborn smiled, "You have to be when you're in the mafia."

"The mafia?" Joan asked, looking rather taken aback.

"He's joking!" Tsuna quickly interrupted, laughing loudly, "It's a game where he pretends he's in the mafia, well he pretends we're all in the mafia."

"It's a pretty fun game!" Yamamoto added, "But kinda difficult at times!"

"Sounds interesting" Joan smiled, "Are all of you a mafia family?"

"Yep, and Tsuna's the boss." Reborn responded, his eyes glinting, "Would you like to join?"

Joan laughed, "I'd love to kid, though I don't know how I feel about Tuna as a boss."

"Are you implying that the Tenth isn't a worthy boss?!" Gokudera cried, visibly bristling.

"Well he's a bit short for a mafia boss, isn't he?" Joan said, still smiling, "I don't know, I feel like that would stunt his intimidation abilities."

"His intimidation abilities are _exactly _where they need to be, thank you." Gokudera growled.

"Well if you're convinced that he's perfect as is, I don't suppose I can turn down such an invitation, right?" Joan laughed, "I'd be thrilled if you let me join. But how about my friend, Alex?" she put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Is she welcome too?"

"Hm…" Reborn was openly smirking now, "Why should I let her in?"

"Well if you let me in, you let her in too" Joan explained, "See how this works? We're partners. We go everywhere together!"

"If you insist" Reborn shrugged, "You both are welcome into Tsuna's family."

"Sweet I'm a Mafioso now!" Joan laughed, "Or wait is there an induction process? Some test we have to do to get in?"

"Well-" Reborn started.

"No, there's nothing" Tsuna quickly interjected. The absolutely last thing he needed was for Reborn to give the FBI agents one of his so-called tests,"Oh Roberto!" he said, forcing out a strained laugh, "You've got such an imagination!"

"Roberto?" Alex asked, quirking an eyebrow, "Wasn't his name Ricardo?"

"Oh. Um yea, it was wasn't it."

"What you can't even remember your cousin's name?" Alex said, "Some mob boss you're turning out to be."

"That's because I'm not a mob boss, see?" Tsuna responded quickly trying to think of a way to change the subject, "But anyways, _wow_ am I tired, so if you don't mind I'm going to be getting a little sleep?"

"Oh, of course" Alex nodded, "We've booked the room next to you and will be keeping a card key for this room. We'll come to check in on you every hour and once you feel rested up, please let us know before you go out?"

"You're checking on us every hour?" Ryohei looked rather nonplussed, "Why?"

"Oh, well I just get really nervous about my friends." Alex said, "I just want to make sure everything's okay."

"You don't have to worry about that with me here!" Ryohei said, cheerfully, "I can extremely protect my sister and Sawada and everyone here!"

"I'd be more comfortable if I did it." Alex respond, "You seem a bit…well…"

"Extreme?" Ryohei provided, grinning widely.

"Sure, why not," Alex shrugged, "Extreme. Let's go with that."

"That's because I am!" Ryohei cried. Tsuna could practically see the fire blazing in his eyes, "Extreme boxing! Extreme eating! Extreme protecting my friends!"

"Okay then..." Alex said, holding her hands up, "You go...do that. Joan and I are going to be going over to the next room now. You stay extreme, okay?"

"I'M ALWAYS EXTREME!"

"Yea nobody's arguing with you there, buddy." Alex was still smiling but her expression also expressed a great deal of disbelief, "Tuna was right about you. Though I don't know if strange was the word I would have used to describe you..."

What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it, extreme kid." Alex shook her head, "We're going to head out now. Try not to go deaf with this one" she said, jerking her head towards Ryohei, "Or get us kicked out of the hotel for that matter..."

With a last wave at the group, Alex had grabbed Joan's hand and had hurried out of the hotel room, letting the door swing shut behind them with a small click.

"So care to explain to me why you've got a few FBI agents with you?" Reborn asked.

"They were FBI agents?" Ryohei asked, looking nonplussed, "How could you tell Reborn?"

"I've dealt with their kind before, they aren't too hard to spot" Reborn shrugged, "They're green too, so it couldn't have been that serious of a jam you got into."

"It's not my fault!" Tsuna exclaimed throwing his hands up, "We got lost and ended up stumbling across some freaking mafia exchange then the FBI showed up and dragged us off to the station and we were questioned and next thing I know we're in some sort of protection program and this agent's been tailing us and-wait." Tsuna suddenly stopped, "Weren't you worried when we didn't come home last night!?"

"Not really" Reborn shrugged, "I met up with some old friends last night so I was busy. I'm not your babysitter you know. This one, on the other hand…" Reborn said, gesturing towards Ryohei, "He came running as soon as you lot didn't show up to his boxing match."

"I was extremely worried!" Ryohei protested, "It's not like you guys to just disappear on me and I hadn't heard anything! So I came running over as soon as I finished my match!"

"Wait, how did you find our hotel room?" Tsuna asked, "I don't think we ever told you where we even were."

"No, you didn't" he shook his head, "But you did tell me what street you were on, so I just went to every hotel room in that area till I found the right one."

"How the hell did you not get thrown out of the hotels…?" Gokudera asked, staring openly at Ryohei.

"Who said I didn't?" Ryohei asked, "But if you think security's going to stop me from finding what I want, you're extremely wrong, octopus-head."

"You-!" Gokudera started, "You're such an idiot no wonder you box, mindless punching is the only thing you can do!"

"Now, calm down" Yamamoto laughed, "We're all tired, so let's save this bickering for later?"

"Yamamoto's right" Tsuna nodded, "We should just get to sleep now…and Reborn?" he said, turning his attention to his mentor.

"Yes?" Reborn asked, smiling innocently.

"While these agents with us absolutely no funny business okay?" Tsuna said, "I really want to keep a clean record and I do NOT want to go back to the station so please. No Vongola, no mafia, no violence and for god's sake _why_ did you invite them into the family!?"

"I'll do what I see fit" Reborn said matter-of-factly, "It's always a good idea to have people on the other side of the law after all. But more importantly, _Ricardo_? I get coming up with a false name for me but is Ricardo the best you could do?"

"I panicked." Tsuna grumbled, "It was the first Italian-sounding name that started with an "r" that popped up in my head."

"I suppose I shouldn't expect anything from you" Reborn shrugged, "But you know, whether these women are here or aren't here, that's not changing any of your lessons, right?"

"But-"

"My goal has been the same these past few years and a few green FBI agents aren't stopping me," Reborn smirked, "If I were you, I'd try to get some sleep. You have a busy night ahead of you, after all. While you lot nap, I'm going out for a quick snack."

"Busy…night?"

"There's a lot to learn in order to be a successful mob boss!" Reborn said, cheerfully, standing from the armchair and stretching, "And because of your little run-in with the law, we're already behind schedule! We're going to have to cram some extra things in over the next few days!"

Completely ignoring Tsuna's weak and spluttering protests, Reborn sauntered over to the hotel room's door and left the room.

* * *

**A/N: So that's that. **

**Hm. Nobody guessed where the OCs were from either. Guess it wasn't as obvious as I thought? Oh well; if anyone does I'll be hella excited which is something I guess. :)**


End file.
